The Thrill of Rush Week

There are so many things flowing through the mind of a college student on their first day of school. What am I going to wear? Are the classes going to be intimidating? How am I supposed to find my classes on such a large campus? Whether it be a new Freshman or a veteran Senior, UC Santa Cruz has much to offer during the ever so important first week of school. Perhaps the most overlooked, are the Greek letters that populate the bookstore, attracting all kinds of students with the hope of opportunity.

Santa Cruz isn’t exactly well known for their Greek Life. There’s no Fraternity Row or letters being displayed outside of houses. Yet there they are, members of the different fraternities and sororities on campus, setting up camp around 7 A.M. in hopes of attracting the best prospects to their respective organizations. There seems to be a common theme of increasing the popularity of the Greek system. Chris Chung of Sigma Pi states that he has definitely seen an increase in the amount of interest in Greek life since he first stepped on campus. He claims that he was extremely surprised to see so many students come to their rush events, and he feels that the week overall was very successful. Valentina Dzebic from Delta Sigma Pi had a similar view on her organization’s rush week as well, although she faced different challenges when trying to recruit. While she noted that her organization had a successful rush week and that many great prospects came out, she was quick to note that as a professional fraternity is can be even more challenging since their choice of candidates is narrowed due to only taking students from a select field of study. However both students agreed that in order for Santa Cruz Greek Life to take the next step, there would need to be a greater access to resources. They claim that it’s fun having an event where the school comes together to show off their pride, but that we need these events to occur more often as to promote the Greek system. Also, it’s hard when all the organizations have to arrive at 7 A.M. in the morning to try and secure a prime location.

Nevertheless, Rush Week allows UC Santa Cruz students to take pride in their organizations, and to help further the word of the Greek system. So next time you’re walking through the book store, don’t be upset when approached by students donning unfamiliar letters on their shirts. They’re simply doing their part in making sure their organizations are recruiting the best prospects on campus.